HEA contributor Judith from Binge on Books chats with author Avon Gale about her intense love of hockey and what can we can expect next from her in hockey romance.

Judith: If you’re anything like me, sports romance is very much an either/or thing: either I love it desperately or I loathe it. There really is no in-between. So for me it’s really hard to find an ongoing series which lands wholly in the “love it” category. The first book is great, second less so, third meh, and then I just give up.

But Avon Gale’s Scoring Chances? It’s a total “love it” series. A “drop everything you’re doing and read the next one as soon as it’s released” kind of series. Following the interconnected lives of hockey players and coaches on several NHL affiliate teams, this is M/M romance at its best. Plus, the whole heaping of on-ice hockey action will entertain diehard fans and newbies alike, leaving you breathless for completely different reasons than romance.

With only a month before the release of book five in the series, Coach’s Challenge, I sat down with Avon Gale to talk about Scoring Chances and all things hockey.

Judith: Hello, Avon, and welcome to HEA! Now, I’ve heard you like (read: LOVE) hockey and with five books in a series (and potentially more to come!) that definitely seems to be the case. Were you born a hockey fanatic? What started all the hockey love?

Avon: Oh, I was in no way born a hockey fan, let me assure you. I’m a Southerner and I grew up mainly in the southern U.S., and while my family are insane sports fans (mostly college, and mostly the University of Kentucky basketball team), I didn’t attend a hockey game until I was 19. My then-boyfriend and now-husband brought me to a St. Louis Blues game, and while we were watching, I asked him what happened when the ice cracked? He looked at me and explained that they have a Zamboni that comes out and smooths it between periods. I insisted on knowing what would happen, though, if it *really* cracked … at which point he looked at me and said, “You think there’s a swimming pool under there, don’t you?”

… Yes, yes, I did. Look, I hadn’t ever been ice skating at this point, OK? Luckily, I’m not embarrassed by this story anymore, because in the intervening years I’ve obviously come a long way. I got into hockey fanatically in 2010, when my Canadian bestie got me watching when her team, the Vancouver Canucks, were having a stellar season and on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. They’re a Western Conference team, so she suggested I pick myself a favorite in the Eastern Conference. Having been raised to bleed Kentucky blue, the idea of picking my own sports team allegiance was strange and wonderful.

Judith: So can you tell us what your favorite team is and why?

Avon: So, as I said above, I found myself searching for a team to cheer for. I asked a lot of people, all of whom responded, “Anyone but the Boston Bruins, ugh.” So, that pretty much sealed the deal for me, because I’m contrary like that. I chose the Bruins, and then, in 2011, they beat the Canucks and won the Stanley Cup. My bestie — the one who’d gotten me into hockey — hasn’t quite gotten over that one yet, oops. Of course, the Bruins have brought me nothing but pain and misery since then, because caring about sports is the worst. But seriously, I love the Bruins for being an original six team, having a great and storied rivalry with the Habs, and for being emotional failbots that either win the Stanley Cup or fail to make the playoffs. What can I say? I’m a girl who appreciates extremes.

Judith: Well, since you’re so extreme … do you play hockey? Ice skate? Anything related?

Avon: Hahaha, oh no. I can “ice skate” in the sense that I can put them on and sort of skate around before my ankles are like, “Why?” But when I was younger (uh … a lot younger), I used to play roller hockey and was pretty good at it. I’m still way better on rollerblades that I’ll ever be on ice skates!

Judith: Now we must talk all things hockey romance! Name your top three favorite hockey romances by fellow authors.

Ghost Dance by Catherine Gayle (m/f). This is the story of a broody Russian hockey player and the feisty, take-no-crap lady sled hockey player who helps him get over himself. It’s fabulous!

To Arizona by Meg Harding (m/m, paranormal). This one involves hockey and SHIFTERS! Also, the goalie is a red panda, which is my favorite animal (and he has his own sequel!). I loved the idea of combining professional sports and shifter mythology. This book is adorable, fun and super hot.

Judith: Which is your favorite player you’ve written and why?

Avon: This is a hard one, but it’s a toss-up between Isaac Drake and the MC from Coach’s Challenge, Troy Callahan. Isaac was a fun character to write because he’s stubborn, feisty and as a goalie, someone who has to learn from past mistakes without getting caught up in constantly reliving them. Isaac snuck into the series in a brief mention in the second book, and I think he’s been in every one of them so far (including his own story, which is told in Empty Net).

Troy Callahan, the MC from the upcoming Coach’s Challenge, is a loud-mouthed hockey coach who is in his mid-40s and likes to yell about forechecking. (I am basically Troy while watching hockey.) He’s confident and secure in himself, what he wants and who he is. Writing Troy was fun because he swears like a sailor, is unapologetic about his opinions, but underneath all that gruff he’s a kind and caring human being.

I sort of feel like Isaac is going to be a lot like Troy when he grows up. Except with blue hair.

Judith: What’s up next in the series after Coach’s Challenge?

Avon: There’s one more book in the series (which I … kind of can’t believe, to be honest), and it’s called Offside. It’s about Xavier Matthews, who you first meet in Empty Net and who gets a fair bit of page time in Coach’s Challenge. Xavier is the captain of the Asheville Ravens, and he meets and falls hard for the new team PR guy named Zachary. I’m also playing around with the idea of a few side stories, sort of a “Where Are They Now?” type of thing.

About Coach’s Challenge:

It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds that the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression—especially when Shane’s rough good looks give Troy inappropriate thoughts about a player, even if Shane’s set to retire at the end of the season.

Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon and with a team that doesn’t trust him, the coach, or each other. Despite his determination to not get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff, out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.

Scoring Chances series reading order

About Avon

Avon Gale wrote her first story at the age of 7, about a “Space Hat” hanging on a rack and waiting for that special person to come along and purchase it — even if it was a bit weirder than the other, more normal hats. Like all of Avon’s characters, the space hat did get its happily ever after — though she’s pretty sure it was with a unicorn. She likes to think her vocabulary has improved since then, but the theme of quirky people waiting for their perfect match is still one of her favorites.

Avon grew up in the southern United States, and now lives with her very patient husband in a liberal Midwestern college town. When she’s not writing, she’s either doing some kind of craft project that makes a huge mess, reading, watching horror movies, listening to music or yelling at her favorite hockey team to get it together, already. Avon is always up for a road trip, adores Kentucky bourbon, thinks nothing is as stress relieving as a good rock concert and will never say no to candy.

At one point, Avon was the mayor of both Jazzercise and Lollicup on Foursquare. This tells you basically all you need to know about her as a person.

Judith is the owner and curator of the book review site Binge on Books, as well as the boutique press Open Ink and the literary PR agency A Novel Take PR. In addition to writing about queer romance for HEA, you can also find Judith on Teen Vogue talking her favorites in queer YA and New Adult.